House panel kills teacher pay proposal

BOISE - The Idaho Legislature will likely extend past its targeted March 27 end-date now that a House panel has killed a long-awaited proposal to boost teacher pay.

The panel's decision on Wednesday came at the same time the state's budget committee announced it would delay setting the education budget. The joint committee's chairmen cited uncertainty over the teacher pay bill for pushing back their budget setting.

Rep. Reed DeMordaunt, who chairs the House Education Committee, says he plans to introduce a new bill in the coming days.

"At the end of the day, we need to do the right thing," the Republican from Eagle said. "And if that requires (deadlines) to slip, then that's just the reality we have to deal with."

DeMordaunt wouldn't say what changes he's considering for the bill.

The panel spent more than five hours on Tuesday listening to testimony from teachers, who say the raise is too small for the increase in accountability measures.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle also scrutinized the accountability process Wednesday.

Democratic Rep. Donna Pence of Gooding pointed out that the vast majority of evaluators aren't individually monitored for quality control. Republican Rep. Patrick McDonald of Boise wanted to make sure benchmarks are in line with teachers' job descriptions.

The Joint Finance and Appropriations budget committee typically doesn't budget for bills that have not been approved by at least one chamber of the legislature - meaning the teacher pay raise likely needs to clear both the House Education Committee and the House floor to receive funding.

The plan, if passed, would have increased first-year teacher salaries by less than $500 starting on July 1 -ultimately growing from $31,750 to $37,000 over five years.

More experienced teachers could have earned up to $50,000 if they met certain benchmarks.

The entire plan was slated to cost $125 million over five years.